The Reductor Curse
by yourstrulydani
Summary: Barty Crouch Jr. wasn't mad before like he was when Harry Potter had met him. He has a certain inclination towards the Reductor Curse. He had a heart before, too.


**[A/N] I honestly couldn't believe I'll be writing a fic about a character like Barty Crouch Jr.! I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. This is a submission for The Marauder's Era Competition with the prompts "Reducto!", It wasn't like I wanted it to happen, disappointment, test and exhausting : (Barty Crouch Jr.) has a fight with his best friend.**

**Greek Mythology Mega Challenge / Prompt : #58 Eris - Write about an argument.**

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><p>"You just have to say it loud and clear, Bartemius." Lucinda Edgecombe coached him on.<p>

"Reducto!" Barty shouted, flicking his wand hard against the air, pointing it towards the peacock quill Lucinda had levitated in front of him for practice.

"You did great, Bartemius! Professor Flitwick won't be scolding you anytime soon." Lucinda chuckled, gathering up her books that were perched on top of a desk.

"Call me Barty. And thanks, by the way." he gave the girl a small, rare smile.

"I'm Lucinda, but you can call me Lucy if Lucinda is a handful." Lucinda gave her a warm, bright smile.

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><p>"I've heard you've been acing Charms now, Barty." Lucy grinned towards him, leaning her back on the Oak tree at a secluded side of the Hogwarts grounds.<p>

"Yeah, I have. Thanks to you." Barty nodded at her, his thin lips adorning a boyish smile. "Here, as thanks from me." he handed her a small, pocket watch with her name engraved in loopy cursive. "I have one, too." he tugged on a golden chain from his pocket and his own came to view.

"It's beautiful, Barty! It must've cost a small fortune." Lucinda couldn't take off her eyes from the pocket watch that now rested on her palms.

"It's nothing, Lucy." he grinned widely at her.

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><p>As it turned out, the golden pocket watch also served as some kind of walkie-talkie. He said he had given it to her for <em>help during tests.<em> She laughed at the thought, smacking him on the back of the head in response.

It was one late afternoon that his voice came out deep and different from her pocket watch. "Hey, Lucy. Can I see you at this time by the Oak tree?"

"I'll be right there, Barty."

Lucy rushed through the Halls, sprinting down the hills and darted towards their oak tree.

"Hi." she panted, placing a hand for support on the tree's trunk.

"Hey, Lucy." he gave her a strained smile.

"What's wrong, Barty?" she sat down next to him, resting the back of her head on the rough surface of the tree, glancing closely at him.

He chuckled, looking down on his scarred hand. "Father's been at it, again." he said in a depressed voice.

"He didn't acknowledge that I've got the highest O.W.L.S. in our year. He didn't even respond to my owls. He doesn't even care that I became Quidditch Captain!" he clenched his fists, sharp nails digging into his skin.

Lucinda didn't say anything; she just took his larger hands in her small ones and unclenched them. She saw the nail marks on his palm and rubbed them soothingly with her hand.

"He's just too busy with work! Mum's already ill, and he rarely came home over the summer! It's getting exhausting, Lucy." he bellowed with venom in his voice.

Still, Lucinda didn't speak. She knew telling him things didn't do good, and let him feel her care instead. She squeezed his hands comfortingly, resting her temple on his stiffened shoulders.

"Thanks, Lucy. For everything." he mumbled in a defeated voice, closing his eyes. He just needed her presence for him to calm down. He felt very thankful for her coming to him when he needed her most.

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><p>"Please! PLEASE! Stop it! Stop it, please!" Lucinda screamed, her shouts echoing on the walls. "Stop it.." she pleaded with a helpless and weak voice, tears flowing down her cheeks.<p>

The masked figure just gave out a cold, cruel laugh, "This'll teach Crouch something.." His cold voice sent the hair on her skin standing up.

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><p>"B-Barty.. Please, help me.. Please.." Barty was halted from his studying as Lucy's weeping voice came from his pocket watch by his bedside table.<p>

"I'm at the 3rd floor corridors, Barty.. Please help me.."

And with that, Barty left his dormitory in search of his best friend.

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><p>He saw her lying there, her chest slowly rising and falling as her weeping came to a minimum. Her hand was pooled by a small puddle of blood.<p>

"Ssshh, ssshhh. I'm here, Lucy. What happened?" Barty knelt down beside her and placed her head on his lap. He wiped small tears off of her cheeks with his thumb softly.

"I-I don't know who he is, B-Barty. He just cornered me, and then he blasted me with a Stunning curse. I woke up next with a searing pain on my a-arm." she sobbed.

"Don't ever be like them, Barty. Please. Don't be bad." she looked up at him, tears still pooling her arms. She had a vice grip on his arm with her uninjured hand.

"_I won't ever be a disappointment, Lucy. Not to you._"

He glanced down to her bleeding arm. It turns out, the unknown man had carved '_Sordes _' with a dagger in her arm.

_It was filth in Latin._

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><p>"Promise me we'll still keep in touch, Barty? I'll be answering my pocket watch in every moment possible!" she promised, holding up his gift for her from the years before.<p>

It was their graduation. Many hugs and farewells were exchanged, but the two of them only had each other.

"Of course, Lucy. I'll be awaiting your calls." Barty gave her a half-hearted smile.

_It was a broken promise._

_And little did she know, it was her last time seeing him an innocent man._

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><p>It was a cold morning when Lucinda was strolling through Diagon Alley when she saw her old friend's face on the front page of the Daily Prophet. She hadn't heard from him since graduation, and almost a year had passed.<p>

"Barty Crouch Jr : Death Eater? The Head of Magical Law Enforcement's Son Wanted!" the man shouted, brandishing the newspaper to passersby.

"_No." _she muttered to herself.

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><p>"Barty."<p>

"Barty, please answer me."

"Barty, please.

"Let's meet."

"I'll be at Snake's Fangs tomorrow. Please come, Barty."

Barty heard her voice call out to him. He was far different, now; far from the Barty Crouch Lucinda had known when they were both in Hogwarts.

_He was a Death Eater now._

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><p>He wore a dark cloak over him, wading his way through the streets anonymously. He entered Snake's Fangs his eyes sweeping the place for any sign of threat. He had been told to go upstairs to a private room.<p>

He entered the poorly-lit room, Lucinda's eyes meeting his.

Lucy still had the same warm eyes but her chocolate hair was slightly longer. She didn't age over the past year, but he did.

He had scars all over his body, his hair falling a mop on his head, his eyes blank and lifeless. Lastly, he had the Dark Mark on his arm.

"Barty." she said in the warmest, softest voice.

She stepped cautiously to him, stopping at least a few feet away from him.

"Barty, how have y-you been?" she cowered under his gaze, but he did not answer.

"I-I thought you promised me.." her voice quivered as his lifeless gaze pierced her. "You p-promised not to be like them.."

"The Dark Lord rewards those who are loyal to him." he said in a voice that was not quite him.

"I am not the same man, Lucinda. I live a life to serve my Dark Lord. Those who are not worthy shall perish." he said in a tone similar to the masked figure that had tortured her in her seventh year.

"But you promised! YOU PROMISED ME, BARTY!" she yelled, striding towards him and shaking him by his arms.

"Barty! I know you're still in there!" she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Leave that life and go away with me, Barty, please.."

"I cannot, Lucinda." he coldly said, "I am loyal to my Master."

"But Barty, please..." she squeezed his freezing hand in her warm ones.

"I AM NOT THE SAME MAN! LEAVE ME BE!" and with that, he strode out of the room, leaving Lucy quietly weeping, mourning the loss of her best friend.

_I did it for your safety, Lucy. I don't want you involved with me. I do not wish you to die early. I wish you a long life and a peaceful family away from me._

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><p><em>"You are the brightest witch of your age, Ms. Granger." Alastor Moody rarely praised someone, much less a student. <em>

_But this student was different. She was intelligent and kind-hearted. She was strong-willed, too._

_Like his Lucinda. He clutched his golden pocket watch in his hand, the surface cold against his skin._

_Wherever you are, Lucy, I wish you a happy and safe life without me. I wanted you safe. it wasn't like I wanted it to happen._

_I'm sorry._

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><p><strong><em>"The Reductor Curse is a curse that can be used to blast solid objects into pieces. It is rather easy to reduce the target into fine mist or a pile of ashes."<em>**

_I did not wish to diminish our friendship to a pile of ashes, Lucy. But I'm holding on to that pile of ashes, in hopes of your safe life._


End file.
